Breast health awareness · by SHAPE
Know your normal.
A private space for breast health awareness, created with care for the women of Bangladesh.
- How to know your normal, in 3 simple steps
- Which changes to show a doctor, and where to go
- A monthly reminder that you set yourself
Supported by
A Simple Breast-Awareness Habit
Look, feel, notice. Choose a time that helps you remember and become familiar with how your breasts normally look and feel.
When to check: breasts can naturally feel different during your menstrual cycle. Choose a time when they are comfortable and you are likely to remember. Many women pick a day or two after their period, or a fixed date each month. If you notice something new, do not wait for that day.
Look
Stand in front of a mirror in good light. Look at your breasts with your arms in three positions, comparing both sides.
Notice anything new or different:
- Any change in size, shape, or symmetry
- Skin dimpling, puckering, or redness
- Nipple inversion or unusual discharge
- Visible swelling or distortion
Feel
Use your fingers to become familiar with how your breasts and underarm area normally feel. Cover the area from collarbone to lower ribs, and from armpit to breastbone. Notice anything new or unusual.
- Lie down or stand in the shower, whichever feels right
- Use the pads of your fingers, moving slowly and thoroughly
- Include the underarm and upper chest, not just the breast itself
Notice
Knowing your baseline makes spotting change possible. After each check, take a moment to note what you found.
- Any new lumps or areas of thickening
- Skin changes: dimpling, redness, rash, or an orange-peel texture
- Nipple changes: discharge, inversion, or scaling
- Persistent pain or tenderness in one area
- Any other change that is new for you
Good to know: most breast lumps are not cancer, but any new or changing lump should be checked by a healthcare professional. The goal is to notice a change and get it checked.3
This guide draws on the Touch · Look · Check approach from Breast Cancer Now.4 Breast awareness builds familiarity with your normal — it does not replace clinical examination or screening.
Awareness is not the same as screening
Breast cancer can sometimes be present before it causes a lump or other symptoms. Self-checking helps you notice change, but it is not a substitute for recommended breast-cancer screening. If you are unsure what screening is right for you, ask a healthcare professional.
If a bra never quite sits right, fit is often the reason. Our fit team offers free, private fittings in any SHAPE store or on WhatsApp. There is no obligation, and you never have to buy.
Symptom Guide
Tap any change to learn what it can mean. This is education, not triage — always arrange a medical assessment for a new or unusual change.
Seek prompt medical attention for rapidly developing redness or swelling, significant breast pain, fever, or if you feel acutely unwell.
General guidance: if you notice a new or unusual breast change, arrange an assessment with a healthcare professional. Most breast changes are not cancer, but a new or persistent change should be assessed.
Where can I seek help in Bangladesh?
You can start with a primary-care doctor, a gynaecologist, a breast clinic or a surgical department. They can arrange further assessment, imaging or referral when needed. You do not need to find the "right" specialist first. Government hospitals usually cost much less than private ones, and you can always ask about fees before a test.
Bangladesh Medical University (formerly BSMMU), Dhaka · National Institute of Cancer Research & Hospital (NICRH), Mohakhali, Dhaka · government medical college hospitals across the country.
Evercare Hospital, Square Hospital and Labaid for breast clinics and surgery. Praava Health for a doctor's visit and tests.
The appropriate imaging test depends on your age, symptoms and clinical findings. A healthcare professional may recommend an ultrasound, mammogram or both.
We only list places we can name with confidence, and we never publish phone numbers we have not checked. This is not a complete or official list. Please confirm clinic hours and services before you travel. SHAPE has no partnership with any of these hospitals or clinics.
Breast Awareness Is Not Screening
Both matter, and they are different things. Here is why.
What breast awareness does
Knowing how your breasts normally look and feel can help you notice a new or unusual change. That is the purpose of this hub: to help you recognise change and know where to seek care.
What screening does
Breast-cancer screening, such as mammography, can find cancer before it causes symptoms. Screening recommendations depend on your age, your personal and family history, and other risk factors. If you are at higher-than-average risk, you may need an earlier or additional screening plan.
The key point
If you notice a new breast or underarm lump, nipple or skin change, unusual discharge, or another persistent change, seek medical assessment — even if you recently had a normal screening test.
Worth asking your doctor: "What breast-cancer screening, if any, is right for me given my age and history?"
Risk-Factor Classroom
There is no quiz here and no score. These are the risk factors doctors commonly discuss. Read them, then take your questions to a doctor. Tap a card to see what it means.
A short quiz cannot know your risk. Real risk tools need a doctor to know your full picture, and they work less well outside the groups they were built for. A "low risk" label from a lingerie brand could delay real care, so we will never show one. We would rather explain things clearly and help you ask a doctor good questions.
Remember: having a risk factor does not mean you will develop breast cancer, and having no known risk factor does not mean your risk is zero.
Notes for your doctor visit
Tick what applies to you. We will turn it into a short note that you can copy, screenshot or print and take to any appointment. SHAPE does not save or receive what you tick.
This is education, not a risk score. A doctor can weigh things that no checklist can.
Breast-awareness reminder
Pick your day, then choose how you want to be reminded. Each button below says exactly what it does.
Don't wait for your reminder if you notice a new change. The reminder is for your regular awareness habit. A new change should be checked now.
Add it to your calendar
Creates an event that repeats every month for 12 months, with a short Look, Feel, Notice note. Works with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook.
If the download does not start (some in-app browsers block files), use the Google Calendar button instead.
WhatsApp note that you send
We write the message and you choose who gets it. SHAPE never messages you and never sees the message.
This opens WhatsApp with the message ready. You press send.
For family helpers
A husband, mother, sister or friend can help her keep this habit, without asking for details.
- Remind her gently on the day. Saying "it is your reminder day" is enough. No details are needed.
- If she notices a change, offer to help book the visit and to go with her.
- Never ask for details she does not offer. Supporting her means she stays in charge of her own body.
Myths and facts
Questions women often ask us in fittings, answered plainly.
Your friend can wear a 36C perfectly, and the same bra can feel wrong on you. That is about shape, not size. If your bras never feel comfortable, a free private fitting takes about ten minutes, and you never have to buy.
Helping this guide reach more womenএই গাইড আরও নারীর কাছে পৌঁছে দিচ্ছেন যাঁরা
These brands and people are sharing the Breast Health Hub with their own communities. SHAPE takes no money from any of them.এই ব্র্যান্ড ও মানুষেরা নিজেদের কমিউনিটিতে স্তন স্বাস্থ্য হাব শেয়ার করছেন। শেইপ তাঁদের কারও কাছ থেকে কোনো টাকা নেয় না।
- SIZFashion label blending modern style with the artistry of Bangladeshফ্যাশন লেবেল: আধুনিক স্টাইলে বাংলাদেশের কারুশিল্প
- wear LAMAZIOccasion wear, designed and tailored in-houseবিশেষ মুহূর্তের পোশাক, নিজস্ব ডিজাইন ও সেলাই
- The Afternoon ClubCurated book and cinema experiencesবই ও সিনেমা নিয়ে বাছাই করা আয়োজন
- Star LifestyleThe lifestyle supplement of The Daily Starদ্য ডেইলি স্টারের লাইফস্টাইল ক্রোড়পত্র
- Grace Skin and LaserDoctor-led skin, hair and laser care in Gulshanগুলশানে ডাক্তার-পরিচালিত ত্বক, চুল ও লেজার কেয়ার
- Bridal Bureau by SAHDhaka and Torontoঢাকা ও টরন্টো
- Dr. MariaDermatologist and skin educator, founder of Grace Skin and Laserচর্মরোগ বিশেষজ্ঞ ও স্কিন এডুকেটর, গ্রেস স্কিন অ্যান্ড লেজারের প্রতিষ্ঠাতা
- Sadia Anika Hasan (SAH)Fashion commentatorফ্যাশন ভাষ্যকার
- Deal of the DayOnline shop: "For you, from around the world"অনলাইন শপ: সারা বিশ্বের পণ্য
- R A R A studioFashion studio pairing South Asian craftsmanship with global labelsফ্যাশন স্টুডিও: দক্ষিণ এশীয় কারুশিল্প ও বৈশ্বিক লেবেলের মেলবন্ধন
Sources
Every number in this hub is listed here with its source. All pages were accessed on 22 September 2026.
- GLOBOCAN 2024, Bangladesh fact sheet, IARC Global Cancer Observatory: about 9,480 estimated new female breast cancer cases.
gco.iarc.who.int, Bangladesh fact sheet (PDF) - American Cancer Society, breast cancer survival rates: 5-year relative survival above 99% for localized invasive breast cancer, U.S. SEER data. Outcomes vary by place, stage and subtype. This is not a personal guarantee.
cancer.org, survival rates - MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine): most breast lumps are not cancer; new or changing lumps should still be evaluated.
medlineplus.gov, breast lump - Breast Cancer Now, Touch · Look · Check approach (teaching inspiration; all art here is SHAPE's own).
breastcancernow.org, TLC - Susan G. Komen: regular physical activity is associated with roughly 10 to 20% lower breast cancer risk compared with being inactive (observational research, not a personal promise).
komen.org, exercise - National Cancer Institute, physical activity fact sheet (meta-analyses: about 12 to 21% lower risk, most active compared with least active).
cancer.gov, physical activity - American Cancer Society, key statistics (U.S. lifetime risk about 1 in 8; risk rises with age). U.S. figures, labelled as such.
cancer.org, key statistics - National Cancer Institute, dense breasts: density can only be seen by a radiologist on a mammogram. It cannot be felt, which is why nothing here asks you to judge it.
cancer.gov, dense breasts - American Cancer Society, screening recommendations for early detection.
cancer.org, screening recommendations - American Cancer Society, breast cancer risk factors you cannot change (age, inherited mutations, family history, personal history, chest radiation, reproductive factors).
cancer.org, risk factors you cannot change
The Myths and facts answers are summarised from American Cancer Society and National Cancer Institute public education pages (cancer.org, cancer.gov) and make no numeric claims. This hub does not give time-frames for symptoms. Any new or unusual change should be checked by a healthcare professional.
About this hub and your privacy
What this is
A free breast-awareness resource from SHAPE: how to become familiar with your normal, which changes should prompt a medical visit, what risk factors mean, and where care exists in Bangladesh.
What this is not
It is not diagnosis, not screening and not a risk assessment. It will never give you a score, a tier or a "low risk" label. A short quiz cannot know your risk, and pretending that it can could delay real care.
Privacy
SHAPE does not ask you to create an account or submit your breast-health answers to us. Your answers and notes are put together in your browser. Your phone only remembers your language and that you have seen the first screen. If you choose to use WhatsApp or Google Calendar, those actions go through those services, and their privacy policies apply. Like every page on shape.adoremesecrets.com, this page uses the store's standard analytics tools.
Where SHAPE appears
Only in two quiet places, after the education: a note about free private fittings at the end of the awareness guide, and one under Myths. Never in the symptom guide and never in reminders. We do not sell to health worries.